Prompt: Consider Sinatra's performance. What does he do here that is different from his acting in musical films? How does the role relate to those earlier roles (re: ethnicity, class, masculinity, etc.) and how does it differ?
I was excited that we watched From Here to Eternity this week, because I have never seen the entire thing but have always wanted to. I normally am not a fan of war movies and instead enjoy lighter films, but for a drama I thought this was very good. The acting of some of the characters seemed a little stilted and forced at times, but I thought Sinatra did an excellent job as Pvt. Angelo Maggio and I see why he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It seemed to me that Sinatra was not on screen for the majority of the movie, but that he made the most of his time and tried to be as memorable as possible. Portraying Maggio is a big departure from the acting that Sinatra did in the other films we've seen so far. This is an extremely dramatic role, and he has to convince the audience of the pain he's in when he's dying. Maggio is kind of a funny, wise cracking guy, and somewhat of a smart alec, which seems to be different from the other characters that Sinatra has played. He's also extremely positive and determined to try and not let life get him down. A good example of this is when he's on KP duty and is bringing lots of dishes back and forth, he has a big smile on his face and is determined to do the best that he can. One similarity between the character of Maggio and the other's that we've seen Sinatra play is that they come from a working class background. In From Here to Eternity, Maggio, as well as a lot of the other guys in his company, don't speak with the best grammar and use words like 'ain't' a lot.
One thing that really stood out to me in this film is how strong Maggio's Italian identity was. In the other three Sinatra films that we've watched, he's always been an Italian from a working class family but never this strongly Italian. Angelo Maggio is also the first believable, Italian name that Sinatra's character has had. I was also surprised to hear all of the racial slurs directed at Maggio about Italians (wop, Mussolini). As someone whose grandparents are from southern Italy I took a slight offense to the slurs, and felt glad when Maggio got angry and stood up to Fatso.
While there were moments when Maggio needed someone to step in and try and protect him, in general this character is a lot more assertive and ready for a fight than Sinatra's other characters. When Maggio almost fought Fatso in the bar, it was kind of like seeing a little dog pick a fight with another dog who the little dog thinks is his size but is actually a lot bigger. I have a feeling that the fight would not have gone well if Burt Lancaster's character hadn't have stepped in. After walking out on guard duty and getting court martialed and sent to the stockade for six months, he gets beaten daily by Fatso who is in charge of the stockade. Maggio tries his best to not let his spirit break, and only shows some weakness right before he's about to die in Prewitt's arms. Maggio was also the one who tried to look out for his friend Prewitt, and help make his transition into their company easier. In the other three Sinatra films that we've watched, Sinatra's characters have been the more shy ones when it comes to the opposite sex, but in From Here to Eternity Maggio is the one who convinces Prewitt to go to the New Congress Club to meet some girls and have a fun night.
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